The house that James Brown built, now preserved in a time warp

The intricate wrought-iron gate, the winding driveway through South Carolina pines, the high-columned entrance dominated by the capital B on the portico, the six-car garage, even the shelves of hair products inside – they all scream James Brown, and they have all been maintained just as they were at the musical legend’s Christmas 2006 death.

Maintaining the Godfather of Soul’s Beech Island mansion, about nine miles southeast of Augusta, has been a major goal of Russell Bauknight, the court-appointed manager of Brown’s estate.

“It’s history,” Bauknight said. “You just can’t get it anymore. My job is to preserve history.”

The estate has spent nearly $500,000 on the house in the past five years. A leaky roof and a balky air-conditioning system needed to be repaired, and the house and grounds have to be kept neat and clean. The goal is to create a museum-quality environment and, once all of the legal challenges to Brown’s will are complete, open the house to some kind of tours or educational events.

“The estate and trust are all about educating needy children,” Bauknight said. “That house will play a tremendous role in carrying out the education of needy children, whether it’s a museum or serves in some other capacity.”

Some items have been packed and shipped to museums for special exhibits about Brown, and some of the memorabilia was sold at auction before Bauknight took over the estate. But most of the house remains locked in time.

Every detail is important. The decorated Christmas tree perches hauntingly in the entry room. Cowboy boots and slippers wait like good soldiers in the closet. Canned vegetables line the kitchen shelves.

Bauknight said the credit for maintaining the mansion goes to David Washington, who was hired by Brown before his death and still works as caretaker of the house and grounds.

Bauknight took actor Chadwick Boseman, who plays Brown in the new biopic “Get On Up,” to the mansion when Boseman said he wanted to see how Brown lived. But the mansion wasn’t used as a movie set. Most of the filming was in and around Natchez, Miss.

The State’s Kim Kim Foster-Tobin is the only media photographer who has been given access to the mansion, Bauknight said. While a large film crew might have damaged the interior, it’s a shame the mansion couldn’t have played a role in the movie. It’s ready for its closeup.

“If Mr. Brown were around today, and I never met the man, so I’m guessing this,” Bauknight said, “if he were around today and (caretaker) David Washington was driving him down the driveway, and he drove up to the house, he’d say, ‘Home Sweet Home,’ because it looks beautiful. I’m sure today, it looks like its very best during his lifetime.”

This story was originally published July 19, 2014 at 3:10 PM.